The Curse of Thelonious [✓]

twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY 

"Well," Lera said, flopping down on the weary leather sofa besides Atlas. "The good news is Jessi isn't dead. Tia texted me during the night to say she's in the hospital. The surgeons said there's a chance she may be fine so all hope isn’t lost. They're doing some scan things at the moment to see how bad the cranial swelling is." 

Atlas nodded, engrossed in watching Lera’s Disney collection on DVD. "And the bad news is that we still don't know anything about this curse. I mean, how the hell did it start in the first bloody place?"

Before Lera could comment, the front door opened and her father burst in, a whirl of cold air also entering along with him. "Daaaad!" Lera groaned, rubbing her arms as goose bumps erupted against her soft skin. 

Erik chuckled. "Sorry, darling. There wasn’t much to do today so I took the rest of the day off. Where’s your mother?" 

Lera shrugged, gesturing upstairs to her mum’s home office as her father nodded in understanding. After hearing her deceased daughters voice, Mariha had retreated within herself, spending as much time as possible doing work. It seemed as though she wanted to engross herself in the fantasy worlds written in the books she edited for a living rather than face her own reality. 

"You hungry, kids?" Erik asked, pulling off his coat and hanging it up as he trailed though the living room. Lera nodded eagerly but Atlas only stared at the TV in fascination. He hadn't known who Cinderella was when Lera flippantly referred to her DVD collection and she had felt her entire being soften. She had always known he'd had a terrible childhood but him not having seen any Disney movie made it all the more real. 

As the aroma of roasted vegetables wafted through the air, Lera forced Atlas away from the TV and into the kitchen. “Hey, dad?” she asked, shuffling her feet around in hesitation. “Do you think, maybe, me and Atlas could go to London today?”

Atlas turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised slightly. “What are you talking about?” he whispered, the singing mice forgotten. Lera grinned at him, ignoring the voice in her head telling how her adorable he looked with those crinkles around his eyes as his face twisted in confusion. 

Prodding the singed red peppers with a wooden spoon, Erik replied. “What for?” he asked. 

“Well, we kinda were wondering if we could go to see Atlas’s uncle. He– um, he may have some answers we’re looking for about– um– y'know.”

When Lera’s dad turned to look at Atlas in confirmation, he only shrugged his shoulders, hoping he looked agreeable. “Uh– I guess so. Okay, that’s fair enough but you both be careful, okay? On second thought, you’d better call me when you’re done and I’ll pick you up. I’m not having you walk through the town in the dark, alright?" Lera promised with a sigh of relief, scrambling out of the kitchen to call her mother down.

Turning around until he was directly facing the boy, Erik stared at Atlas with a scrutinising eye. “You damn well better look after her if anything happens.” 

Atlas swallowed. Despite living under their roof, he hadn’t been alone with either of Lera’s parents. Her mother still seemed scared of him and her dad was usually fairly busy with work. “Of course.”

Lera knocked on the strong door of her mum’s home office with a hard tap before entering. Her mother was typing away on her laptop with a series of clicks, quickly looking up with a weak smile. "What's wrong, Lerato darling?" she said, pushing back her wild curls from where they had fallen over her forehead.

Lera sighed. "Mama, you look exhausted. Maybe you should take a break?" 

Her mother shook her head wildly, lips pursed in concentration. Lera knew she wouldn't listen; editing novels was Mariha's escape. Everything had been so hectic recently and she had retreated where she felt safe – amongst the world’s woven by a series of letters.